


Everything Changed When the Air Nomads Attacked, and other variations.

by JeckParadox



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Role Reversal, Crack Treated Seriously, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 16:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3140264
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeckParadox/pseuds/JeckParadox
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of three AUs, in which roles are tossed around between characters, nations, and rank. </p><p>-Everything changed when the Air Nomads attacked-<br/>Avatar Aang, leading his people in repelling the Fire Nation, sets out to bring balance, peace, and serenity to the world. At any cost. In a world where air monks oversee every nation with an iron fist, two kids from the water tribe find the one who may be able to save the world from the Avatar's domination, the descendant of Sozin, the only man in history to challenge the Nomads and almost win.</p><p>-Everything changed when the Water Tribe attacked-<br/>Uniting the two tribes, the Chief of the South, utilizing the power of the ocean, formed the Water Tribe's unstoppable Navy and conquered the world. Now, two siblings in the Fire Nation think they have found someone who can challenge the Water Tribes: the Avatar.</p><p>-Everything changed when the Earth Kingdom attacked-<br/>Years ago Chin the Conqueror looked at the map of the world, and saw that a large portion of it was not green. This was to be rectified. Now, his descendant, Toph, scours the world for the last great opponent: the Avatar.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Everything changed when the Air Nomads attacked Part I

100 years ago, the Southern Air Temple. 

General Shan had been waiting for this day for years. An even dozen years, to be exact. Everything had been built up to it. Ever since Firelord Sozin left Avatar Roku to his death, they had been preparing for this day, timing it perfectly with the fire Spirts' gift to the world; the great comet. It was a long trek up the mountain of the Southern Air temple, one fraught with danger, hardship, and boredom. It was not in the Fire Nation's nature to wait patiently, to hide, to climb desolate cliff after desolate cliff under camouflage and cover of darkness. The airbenders must not be made aware of their presence, until it would be too late for them. 

It was grueling, but through discipline, loyalty, and sheer force of will, he managed to get all of his men in position by the morning of the final day before the Comet would arrive. As he prepared his camouflaged tent, a familiar red speck appeared in the sky, and getting closer. He hesitated, not wanting to go out in the daylight, especially so close to the temple itself, but the messenger hawk might carry orders from the Fire Nation, or a call of distress from one of the other squads positioned around the mountain. He climbed out of the tent, careful to be stealthy and quiet, and waited for the hawk to approach him. 

Written on the scroll carried by the bird was a short, but to the point message. -THE AVATAR HAS TAKEN THE CAPITAL, DO NOT ENGAGE THE AIR NOMADS, RETURN TO TAKU TO RETURN TO THE FATHERLAND- Shan stared at the message for several seconds, dumbfounded. He simply couldn't believe it. Roku had died twelve years ago, at the feet of Sozin himself. It had to be a fake message. This attack on the temples had been planned years in advance, he would not fall back now, without even seeing his enemy's eyes. 

No, he would continue the attack. He burned the message, and shooed away the bird, returning to his tent to wait with his men for the comet. 

* * *

 

He waited until it was nearly sunset, and the sky blazed red as the Great Comet streaked through the sky, leaving behind a burning trail. He breathed in, and felt as if he were a giant as the natural world flooded with the base, spiritual power of fire. The longest day of summer along the equator had nothing on the power he felt in his veins now. No opponent, no matter how powerful, would stand against his bending. 

Shan made the declaration to attack, and his soldiers, enraged with their frustration at the trek, fueled by the comet above, and joyous at the thought of their long-awaited and great battle, charged the remaining distance to the Temple. They rushed in through the dozens of smaller openings, burning their way through cellars and food stores, as they made their way to the lower levels of the temple. He punched a wall with his firebending,  just to see how it felt, and laughed with glee as it exploded outward, and the one after that, and the one after that, scorching the stone floors and rendering the walls ashes in microseconds. 

He knew from the many briefings he had gone through over the years on the structure of the Southern Air Temple that the living quarters were above him, and with a punch upward, and a push from his feet, he launched himself upward, flying through the newly-made hole in the floor, expecting to hear the cries of airbender children, ready to roast in the name of the Fire Nation-

and instead found himself in a silent, beside the sounds of his men and the flames crackling, hall. 

His men, slowly losing their enthusiasm at the lack of an appearance of even one airbender, began creeping through the halls, burning with less recklessness, but still leaving no room unchecked. 

Finally, they had made their way to the upper levels of the Temple, at the wide open halls and vast balconies. And it was there they finally found their opponents. But it was nothing like they had been told. There were no women screaming in fright, no children running for their lives, no old men desperately trying to defend themselves with their pathetic pacifistic bending style, but instead a solid line of young men and women, in the primes of their lives, each looking at him and his soldiers expectantly, with determination in their eyes. Each bore an arrow from their heads to their feet. 

One took a step forward, much older than the rest, but just as determined, and standing just as tall. "We will give you this chance to surrender. We take no pleasure in war, it disgusts us, but to allow you to do what you came here to do would throw the world into a greater disharmony than to destroy you here." 

Shan growled in anger. "You, destroy us? Ha! Don't you see the red sky!" He said, gesturing behind him. "You will die here, among flames. Now, tell us where the other airbenders are, and we'll make your deaths quick and painless."

The old monk gave a short, sad laugh. "I do not fear death, and those among me here who do still fear it have accepted it. I take it you will not surrender?"

"Never!"

The old monk shook his head sadly. "Then gather your men here, and we shall have an all-out battle. A grand duel of honor. What do your people call it? An agni-kai? The able masters of the Southern Temple, versus all of you who have come here to exterminate us."

It was a foolish move, tactically speaking. To bring out all your forces in one spot, on enemy territory, in full knowledge and view of the enemy, was a terrible idea. But his men were angry, filled with a spiritual rage and physical wrath both. And these were not strategists they would face, but pacifistic monks, in a desperate last stand. And above all else, the comet hung in the sky, rendering firebenders Gods among men. 

So Shan accepted, and all his men gathered in the great hall of the Southern temple. Shan walked up to the old monk, and offered his hand, a savage grin on his face. "What's your name, old man?"

"Monk Gyatso."

"My people will remember you as the only airbender general."

"I am honored. Your name?"

"General Shan."

"My people will remember you as the most honorable of the Fire generals to attack out temples. How does an Agni-Kai begin, exactly?" Gyatso said with acceptance. 

"We both kneel, facing away from each other, until a gong is sounded, at which point we both begin to attack each other." He said. 

"Then let us begin, Air Nomads!"

He walked to the other end of the hall, and knelt, facing a massive statue of an ancient airbender monk. The rest of the airbender 'army' doing the same. 

Shan walked to his own end, and knelt, facing the fires his men had burned through the wall to enter the room. His men followed suit, grinning at the idea of both an honorable and easy kill.

Wind blew through one of the many chimes throughout the temple, and he took that as the attack. He turned, readying a massive fireblast, and saw the hundred or so airbenders execute an identical and simultaneous move with absolute grace and discipline. A wind rushed through the room, pulled from the side of the firebenders to the airbender's own side, and then gathered back as a single blast, swinging through the room, tearing stone and wood from the burning temple walls, snuffing the great bursts of flame coming from the caught-off-their guard firebenders, and catching Shan's whole army. Shan felt himself lifted from his feet, heavy armor and all, and in less than a second, found him, his army, and a large amount of debris falling a great distance away from the balcony. Shan poured fire instinctually into his feet, trying to fly, like the greatest of firebenders were said to be able to do, but all it did was send him hurtling even farther away from the balcony. As he fell he heard the sounds of his own men screaming, trying to blast their way upwards, to the side, anywhere, but no one had time to focus, to control themselves, and Shan closed his eyes as the ground, now much closer than it was when he first took note of it, rushed to greet him. 

"Well played, Gyatso."

He died before the pain ever had time to register, smashing into the rocks of the mountainside below. 

* * *

 

Gyatso shuddered, and tried to not scream at the other air masters as they cheered in their success. What had happened was horrific. The deaths of hundreds of people. They had died without making peace with themselves, rejecting the peace offered by Gyatso.

But ultimately, in the true scope of things. 

It was...

good.

The Air Nomads with him were all alive, the children and elders hidden in the floors above and in hideouts in the valleys lived also. Hopefully, so would the Nomads of the other Temples. 

But if this, ultimately, small force was all he had to deal with, he was frightened at what his student must be going through. He had heard through the White Lotus of the Avatar's victory over the Fire Capital. How many people was his poor student forced to kill today, as his master had been forced to kill?

He was brought out of his thoughts as one of the other monks clapped him on the shoulder, "We lived, Master Gyatso." She said, her face full of joy. "Air lives on."

Gyatso hesitated, and then nodded, putting on a show of happiness, for the sake of the young masters that surrounded him. Their deeds today would catch up to them, he was sure.

As the nomads began heading into the upper levels and out into the valley, to bring home those who evacuated and were kept hidden, a lone man, with dark brown skin, eyes, and a long beard to match, in simple yellow clothes. He watched the celebration with the same sadness that Gyatso had. "My friend, what have you done?" Pathik asked, gently.

"...We preserved balance in the world."

Pathik hesitated, before nodding.

"...We protected our lives. Something no creature is forbidden from doing, from the smallest insect to the greatest of beasts."

Pathik nodded once more.

"...We murdered hundreds of men, and now we celebrate their misfortune."

Pathik nodded, tears beginning to stream down his face.

"This was not how things were meant to be, I don't think." Pathik said quietly. "Air Nomads do not have armies, do not have generals."

"We had to protect ourselves." Gyatso said, a little angry at Pathik's condemnation of them. 

"I know. And you did what was right. Just not what was meant to be." Pathik whispered, seeing something that Gyatso did not. "The world is in a time of chaos. Balance, like all things, is balanced in and of itself. There was a time of great peace under Yangchen and Kuruk, a time of chaos under Kyoshi, and another age of peace under Roku. The age of Avatar Aang will be one of chaos. I had thought it would be the Fire Nation that would throw the world into chaos." He looked sadly at the nomads laughing and dancing. "I pray that Sozin's rule was the beginning and end of the chaos. But I may be wrong."

Gyatso frowned. "You would rather the Air Nomads entire civilization and way of life be destroyed? Aang dead? The Fire Nation overrunning the world?"

"The element of air would have found its way back into the world eventually. And people would bend it." His eyes glided quickly from North to South. "Even if the Air Nomads themselves were no more."

* * *

 

Aang drifted slowly down, the glow from his eyes and from his tattoos slowly fading. The air stopped spinning, the earth stopped shaking, the ring of fire that surrounded him extinguished, and his great body of water flowed back down the mountain into the ocean, washing away his trail of destruction into the caldera of the Fire Nation capital.

He looked behind him in horror, gagging and turning around to look at what lay before him, the imperial palace, in shreds. And closer, on the ground, an injured man with graying hair. He walked forward, and the man backed away slightly, but he managed to pick himself up, and formed a fireball in his hands. "I'll kill you!" He roared, and he charged at Aang. The young airbender dove to the side and instinctually slapped him with a wave of earth, before drawing back and hesitating, watching the older man groan on the ground. 

He earthbent and airbent his glider over to him, and sighed that it was half-burnt. He stood above the old man, considering whether or not to help him, when a woman ran from the rubble, carrying a crying baby. "Please! Mercy, Avatar!" Aang stared at her in confusion as she bowed to him, and she drew a gold crest from her hair. "I beg you, Avatar, have mercy on us."

"...I'm not going to hurt you."

"Lies! I am the Fire Lord-"

Aang's eyes widened as the man picked himself up, the woman rushing to support him. "The... fire lord?" Aang asked quietly. 

"Yes! This is my domain! You may have destroyed my navy, my coast, my palace, my army, but I will never, NEVER, stop hunting you!" Sozin screamed. 

His wife slapped him, and he stared at her in absolute shock. She then bowed down to Aang. "Please, forgive my husband. Please, spare us and our only son!" Ilah pleaded. 

Sozin stared at her in horror. "Wh-what are you doing?! Don't bow to the boy who destroyed everything... everything I built... everything..." Sozin's eyes were overcome with rage as he turned to Aang. "ROKU!" Sozin screamed. "You ruined everything!" He went into a firebending stance, when his wife got up and stood between Sozin and the Avatar, facing the Fire Lord. 

"Look! Look at our son, do you want him to be fatherless!?"

Sozin quieted down instantly, staring at the crying baby, then looking around at the wreckage of the capital city. "I..." he turned to Aang, who was staring at the two of them in shock and confusion. "I beg... for your mercy, Avatar. Spare us."

Aang, not sure what else to do, nodded. "You... are spared... you're the Fire Lord?"

"Yes." Sozin said. 

Aang found himself angry again. "I remember now... the Monks said you were going to burn down Taku! That you were going to attack the Air Temples!" Sozin said nothing, Ilah made to bow again, but Aang stopped her. "Call off the attacks on the Air Temples." Aang said angrily. "We'll see what happens from there."

* * *

 

Aang glided across the battlefield, seeing the destruction he caused in his Avatar-State rampage. Above, the Great Comet disappeared, and the sky turned night-blue once more. He came to the shore, and seeing the hundreds of wrecked metal ships and bodies. The survivors, limping the uphill journey to the Capital, watched him with fear, flinching as he flew overhead. 

He landed at the shore, and smiled as Appa swam up to join him. He had left him in a cave there, he remembered, before he went into the Avatar State. He cried into the Bison's fur for a good while, before flying back to the capital. The citizens of the Fire Nation watched him and Appa with fear, and a strange feeling formed in his belly as he returned to the ruins of the Capital. The fire sages had gathered to greet him, and bowed deeply as he approached. 

He guided Appa next to a great balcony where Sozin and Ilah stood with the Fire Sages, and in front of it thousands of Fire Nation citizens gathered, impatiently waiting to hear about their fate. Aang walked over to the Sages, and they gestured out to the multitude of Fire Nation civilians. "We await your judgement, Avatar." one said, bowing deeply. 

"My judgement?" Aang whispered.

"You have destroyed our navy, as well as the Imperial Palace, the royal family is at your mercy." The sage glanced backward, and one of his red-cloaked brethren nodded, smiling conspiratorially. "If you are to control the people, you must take action now, and consolidate your victory. Or else they will riot, and build another army in revenge of your actions today."

"I already stopped the war, what else is there?"

"You must punish those responsible." The sage whispered back. "And rebuild the Fire Nation from it current ruins."

"But I've already punished those responsible!"

"Yet Sozin, the man who killed your previous incarnation, the man who sent armies against the Air Nomads and the Earth Kingdom, still stands."

"But he lost-"

"Then why does he still stand here?"

"What-"

"You must remove his line from the position of leadership. Execute him, his nobles, his generals, and his supporters, and crown a new, innocent, Fire Lord." the sage whispered harshly.

"I'm not going to execute anyone!" Aang shouted, and the people seemed to think he addressed them, and let out a collective sigh of relief. Aang noticed, then looked back at the sage, who had rejoined the rest of his group. Realizing that he would get no other help, he searched the eyes of the people, and then sighed. He wished he had someone else to talk to, but the Monks were miles and miles away, dealing with their own problems. He hoped he was not making a mistake. "Fire Lord Sozin, stand before me!" He shouted, so that all could hear. He felt like he was acting, pretending to be someone else, but the Fire Lord came before him, seething, but compliant, bowing humbly before him. Aang gulped, and looked over the populace, who were watching with interest.

He bent down, pulling the golden hair pin that showed his position from Sozin's head, spilling the ponytail into loose hair. Ilah gasped, putting one hand to her mouth, as Aang struck the ground with his foot, bringing a pillar of stone from the floor. He motioned for the stone to open, and it obeyed him. He dropped the hairpin down the hole, and Aang sealed the stone around it, pushing the pillar back underground, bringing the crown of the Fire Lord with it. 

"You are no longer the Fire Lord. You, and your Heirs, have no right to the crown!" Aang announced. He wasn't sure if that was the proper wording, but it sounded official. "And are hereby banished from the Fire Nation." 

Sozin bowed deeply. "I am. Grateful. For your mercy. Avatar." He managed, barely getting the words out through clenched teeth. 

"I'll take you out of the city myself." Aang said. He turned to the gathered people, who were beginning to get upset, shouting over the crown. 

"Who will lead us now?!" Shouted someone from the crowd.

Aang turned toward the Fire Sages, and the High Sage walked forward, bowing to Aang. "The next in line of Sozin's family would be-"

"No. No one from the old royal family!" The Great Sage shouted. "The next Fire Lord should be chosen from among the Fire Sages, as tradition dictates following the deposing of the Fire Lord!"

Aang frowned, looking between the two old men. He turned to the youngest Fire Sage, although still an old man, and gestured for him to come forward. The Sage nodded hesitantly, and bowed before Aang, as the two elder Sages watched with confusion. "What's your name?" Aang asked. 

"Kaja, great Avatar."

"You are the new Fire Lord." Aang decreed, loudly, for the entirety of the gathered populace. Kaja fell to his knees, eyes widening. Aang turned to the High and Great Sages, and smiled. "See that Kaja and his family gets situated. I'll be back to check on things in a few weeks. You have my... permission, to rebuild the Capital, but not the navy or the army."  The two sages bowed deeply, and Aang turned to Sozin and his family. "Come on, let's find you someplace to live where you can't hurt anyone else."

* * *

 

Aang left the formerly Royal family on an unclaimed stretch of land far from their home before returning to the closest Air temple. He was overjoyed to find that the Fire Nation's attack had been unsuccessful. Repelled without a single Air Nomad casualty in the South, the Fire General obeying the command to leave peacefully in the North, a hard-fought battle won in the West, and a successful ambush of the Fire troops by the Air Army in the East. 

Soon though, the world fell back into chaos, as the Water Tribes acted to wipe out the Fire Nation in revenge for their attacks. Fire Lord Kaja begged Aang to be allowed to rebuild the Fire Navy, but Aang instead decided to try and make the Water Tribe Chief see reason. He explained that the Fire Nation was helpless, that the leader who started the war was banished, and that their armies had stopped their attacks, and no longer existed. But the Chief turned him away, brushing him off, calling him an idiot and a child, and set out to attack the Fire Nation in simple, pure, revenge for the Water villages devastated.

Until Aang defended the same shores he attacked earlier that year, and devastated the Water Navy just as he had the Fire Navy. He didn't banish the Chief, but placed him under the watchful eyes of the Northern Air Nomads. He did the same with the Fire Nation, in protection of Kaja, and the Western Air Nomads watched over him, to guide him in making peaceful decisions. The Earth Kingdom soon broke into it's own wars, would-be conquerors from Ba Sing Se soon warranted Aang's personal intervention, and the Eastern Air Nomads stepped in to watch over the Earth King's council. 

The world had found peace. Each of the three nations was forced into demilitarization, and under the careful watch of Air Nomads, backed by the power of the most powerful Avatar in history, the nations slowly were reformed. The Water Chief, the Fire Lord, and the Earth King became nothing more than figureheads, and the world realized that it had been conquered by the Air Nomads. 

Over the next century the cultures of the world were strained under the domination of the Air Nomads, and, unwilling to take it any more, the Southern Water Tribe broke from the authority of the North, and set out to liberate the world from the control of the Air Nomads. 

The Nomads of the Southern Temple were sent by Aang to oversee the South Pole as each of the other Temples oversaw their own parts of the world, but found the people of the Southern Water Tribe resistant, refusing to give up their weapons and boats that were key to their culture, refusing isolation and enforced peacefulness. Not seeing any other choice, Aang sent the Air Nomads to take control of the Southern Water Tribe by force, fighting their armies head on. The world looked to the Southern Water Tribe with hope, as the last stronghold against the airbender's control in the world. 

But the Air Army was uncontested, seemingly unbeatable. The Water Tribe held out from being conquered, but battles between air and sea slowly ravaged the Tribe's resources, and the world lost hope. Eventually, another hope, spread in the whispers of those who resist the Airbenders, told of a great Fire Bender, the only in history to have killed an Avatar in single battle. The former Fire Lord Sozin. Somewhere in the world, his Heir must still live. Someone capable of killing the Avatar, and ending the age of airbender domination.

Two siblings in the Southern Water Tribe, on a scouting mission together, find a young firebender on the run from airbenders. After a hundred years, the Heirs of Sozin had been found.

 


	2. Everything changed when the Air Nomads attacked Part II

"Ready?"

"Ready."

"Go!" She shouts, and the two of them launched themselves over the shrubbery and across the ledge, to land squarely on the carriage. In a half-second her brother has flipped around his machete and snapped the line connecting it to its escort far above. They would have about ten minutes, give or take five, before the airbenders would realize what happened. Katara reached into her pouches, and forced the water out, hardening and sharpening it in a stream, cutting a person-sized hole in the ceiling of the carriage and dropping through. She grimaces at the sight of its cargo, and begins slashing and hacking at the prison bars, dropping two more canteens and a pouch so that any waterbenders there might be able to help in the escape attempt. 

The prisoners all make to cheer at her arrival, but a quick silence gesture is all it takes for them to keep quiet. They understand the seriousness of the situation full well. Up above Sokka watches the skies carefully, and stands ready with a rope to pull freed prisoners out. 

She gets through the first set quick enough, and there are two waterbenders with them, though with their hands restrained they don't make as much progress as Katara does alone. Within a minute the first two cages are empty, four Water Tribe members freed. One of them stays back and uses a pre-hidden hairpin to work on the locks of a cage Katara hadn't reached yet. Three minutes, eight free. Four, twelve free. There's only one cage left unopened, two people left to save, when Sokka shouts "Incoming!"

She hesitated, staring at the two left in the cage in front of her. "We'll be fine! Go!" One of them hisses, and Katara only hesitates a second longer before tossing a lockpick into the cell, and darting back to the rope. The instant she grabs hold her brother yanks her out with his full strength, and the two jump from the carriage, rolling with the impact with the ground, before running back to the ledge, and the forest beyond it. 

The two sky bison swooped down over the carriage, their riders giving it one look before splitting up and circling around the path of the carriage. This would be the difficult part, staying invisible from an aerial view for a long enough time that the airbenders give up on them. But it was routine by now. The two had been carving their way North through the Earth Kingdom, rescuing all the Water Tribesman they could along the way, and sending them back South through their slowly-growing network of supporters. By now the children of Chief Hakoda were known throughout the Southern Tribe not just as the Heirs to his position, but as a startlingly competent and effective duo. The two of them capable of accomplishing as much as an entire squad of seasoned Water Tribe warriors. 

As it was, they were currently trusted with a mission from their father to reach the city of Ba Sing Se, contact the King, and gain his aid in the war against the Air Overseers. It was an unlikely turn of events, to say the least, but at this point, unless they got the Earth King's support, the Water Tribes wouldn't be able to hold out against the Air Overseers forever. From there, they would move on to the Northern Tribe, with a similar goal in mind. With their skills, and the small number of people in the group, the Chief sent them out with confidence that they'd succeed in their mission. 

The siblings wait silently, watching the skies with a kind of  simultaneous nervous fear and hope. One of the bison dive down, and in an instant, it comes up, a man in blue being carried in one of its paws. The airbender rider, in a quick motion, flings the man into the saddle. Katara sighs. Eleven freed from the airbenders then. Not twelve. Sokka put a hand on her shoulder, and whispered "Don't worry, we'll get everyone we can't rescue right now back after the war is over."

She nodded, and watched the bison until evening, when the two flew off to the West. It was a hassle gathering together the former prisoners, and soon there was a small camp set up, as the men and women cheered and ate their fill, listening and giving out the stories of their adventures, and their eventual captures. In the morning the siblings would point them in the direction of their nearest checkpoint, where a rich family and supporter of their cause would take them in for a few nights, stocking them with food, supplies, and information, before sending them along to the next checkpoint. All the way to the South Pole. 

* * *

 

Katara washed in the stream, enjoying the rare moment of peace, and took the chance to work through her bending forms. She had worked through the last of them when she heard a twig snap, turning and moving instantly into a combat stance. The source of the noise was a teenager, caught half-step walking out of the woods, and looking at her with as much shock as she was looking at him with. More importantly, in his right hand was a small flame, hovering an inch above his palm. 

His eyes shifted to the coil of water floating around her, hers to the wisp of fire above his hand. 

"You're a firebender." She said, at the same time he whispered "You're a waterbender."

The two hesitated for a few more seconds, before the boy dispelled the flame, and stepped fully into view, his arms raised in surrender. "I promise, I won't tell anyone if you don't."

She nodded, neither of them were exactly supposed to be here, according to the aribender's views on isolation. "...What are you doing here?" He asked.

"I could ask the same of you." She replied, but she dropped her water whip back into the river, a small sign of trust.

He considered it for a few seconds, before awkwardly gesturing backwards into the woods. "I kind of live nearby. I come here to practice in private, sometimes."

"Practice firebending?" She asked, smiling. 

He nodded dumbly, before climbing down to stand in the stream himself. "So, what about you, what's a Water Tribe girl doing in the middle of the Earth Kingdom?"

"Once again, I could ask the same of you. So what if you 'kind of' live nearby, what's a firebender doing in the Earth Kingdom?" 

The teenager rolled his eyes, and for the first time she noticed the faded scar that covered a large portion of the right side of his face. "My family's lived here for generations." He said, frowning. "So, I was born, raised, and lived here my whole life. I am, simply, here." He gestured to the land around him in general. "What about you?" He looked over her shoulder at where her other clothes were lying. "The thick blue parka doesn't exactly scream Earth Kingdom citizen."

She blushed slightly, realizing her training clothes weren't that modest, and walked toward the parka. "How should I know if I can trust you?"

"You know I'm a firebender, I know you're a waterbender. If the Air Overseers knew either of us were here we'd be in metal cages, being dragged back to our so-called 'homelands'. I don't see what else you could be worried about."

She rolled her eyes and walked over to her clothes, putting them on quickly before turning back to him. Perhaps this young man might be the next checkpoint for future rescued Water Tribe soldiers. "If you must know, me and my brother are headed to Ba Sing Se to raise an army, and save the world."

He blinked, before laughing a little. "Really? Save the world from who?"

"From the airbenders of course!" Katara said, slightly angry from her mission being blown off. "It's not right, every nation being isolated like this! The Southern Water Tribe is fighting to make the seas free again. And we'll need the Earth King's help."

The teenager frowned. "You're serious about this? That would never work."

"You never know until you try." Katara defended. "Besides, wouldn't you like to live life free from the worry that airbenders will carry you off to another country the moment they find out who you are?"

"It'd be nice, sure." He shrugged. "But it's not happening. Good luck anyway."

She frowned. "What's your name?"

"Zuko. Yours?"

"Katara." She said. "Would you mind hiding me and my brother for a few days? We're kind of on the run right now, and it's amazing how you can get tired of camping after doing so for weeks at a time."

Zuko hesitated, his expression darkening. "I'm not sure my family would be okay with that."

"You never know until you try." Katara offered.

* * *

 "Zuko's coming back from training." Azula announced, walking back through the hall. Her father made a noncommittal noise as he poured over the scrolls on his desk.

Her uncle frowned. "That's strange, it's rather early for him to return home."

"And he brought a girl with him."

Iroh's face broke out in a sly grin, as the sound of her father's quill snapping against the paper betrayed his surprise. "...Who is she?" Ozai asked carefully. 

Azula shrugged. "Not one of the local village girls. I don't recognize her."

Ozai's frown deepened. "And they're coming from the forest? She saw him firebend?"

"I don't know, ask Zuzu."

Ozai got up from where he was sitting and moved quickly to the hall, to watch his son approach, followed by a girl in peculiar blue clothing. He knew better than to bring anyone from the village here. Especially unannounced. But he didn't recognize her. Or her clothing. She was almost definitely a foreigner. Perhaps someone from the cities down South? 

It didn't matter. She was coming from the forest, and his son was bringing her here.

If he had shamed the family-

Worse, if someone _knew_ he shamed the family. Having a son with a bad reputation would damage their hold on the town. It might bring attention.

They would recover of course, but since Azulon died, his family's hold on the village had been slipping. Many of the peasants suspected fowl play, and weren't taking to Ozai with the same friendliness and obedience they had given his father and grandfather. The Earth Kingdom had always had a shocking disregard of merit over succession. It was ingrained for thousands of years within the Earth Peasants that the eldest son took his father's place. The Fire Nation had a deep respect and tradition that was similar, but more important than age, gender, and birth, was skill. 

Ozai had never actually been to the Fire Nation, but Azulon had beat that fact into him. That despite being the younger brother, if Ozai was stronger, he would be the truer Heir. 

However, the people of Hui village did not follow that ideology, despite living under the rule and protection of his father, and living in a town founded by his grandfather. They were watching his, and his family's, actions closer ever since. If Zuko made a fool of himself now, it would harm Ozai's authority. 

"Calm yourself, brother." Iroh spoke, not looking up from his scroll. 

"I am always calm."

"Wait and see how this unfolds, before you do something you regret." Iroh advised, smiling slightly. "It could well be that this is a good thing."

"He knows better than to bring anyone to the manor." Ozai snapped back. 

"Then he likely has a good reason. The boy's not a fool, brother."

Ozai grimaced as Zuko and the mystery girl stood on the back porch. Zuko gave a bow to his father, watching from the hall window, and led the girl into the house. Ozai sighed and headed to the sitting room, followed by a smiling Iroh. 

He found the two of them sitting respectfully across the room, and the two brothers sat down opposite them. "So, Zuko. Who is your friend?" Iroh asked first, breaking the ice.

"And why did you bring her to the house unannounced?" Ozai asked harshly. 

"Father, Uncle. This is Katara, and well, she saw me firebend."

Ozai almost shot out of his seat, his muscles twitching into a firebending stance, before his elder brother's hand latched onto his shoulder. It looked like Iroh was simply giving Ozai a calming and reassuring gesture, but the strength behind the hand was enough to force Ozai back into his seat on the floor, and communicate that Iroh would not tolerate what Ozai was planning to do.

Zuko noticed the subtle struggle, though it seemed Katara had not. "And I saw her waterbend." He clarified. "We can't out each other without getting outed ourselves, so we're safe with her, right now."

His father let out a huff of irritation. "Thank you, Zuko," He began. "for telling us this so promptly. However, I don't see why you brought here here, to the family home, instead of leaving her at the temple and taking us to meet her."

He hesitated for a half second. "This way seemed quicker."

Ozai was not an expressive man, but the way his frown grew slightly deeper told Zuko just how furious his father was, even more so with Zuko's poor excuse. "You don't _think_ boy." He hissed. "First you get caught firebending, and then you violate the secrecy of our home?"

Katara noticed Zuko's enthusiasm quickly dropping by the second, and felt that she needed to say something. "Hey! It's not his fault! Neither of us were prepared for seeing the other, we were in the middle of the woods! How likely would it be that there would be someone in his normal training spot? And it was me who asked to come here. I said I wanted to speak with you directly."

Ozai narrowed his eyes. "I know perfectly well that you are also to blame for this, but Zuko knows that more is expected of him than this!" He glare returned back to his son. "This is shockingly incompetent, Zuko!"

Iroh sighed. "While the discovery of his bending was sure to happen sooner or later, you are right in that he should have left her to wait at the temple."

Zuko looked even more dejected, with even his normally encouraging uncle saying he had done wrong. "It won't happen again, Father." Zuko said, making a deep bow.

"Of course it won't." Ozai hissed, before turning to Katara. "And you, what did you want to speak to me about? As my son has stated, you have nothing to blackmail us with that wouldn't lead to your capture as well."

"What- I don't want to blackmail you. I wanted to see if you'd be interested in aiding us."

"Us?"

"The Southern Water tribe." Katara said proudly. "We've been making our way steadily North across all channels, the seas, the land, from town to town, freeing prisoners as we go. We can't bring them with us, of course, so we've been sending them back to the Water Tribes through a series of friendly rest stops. We were hoping that you and your family would be supporting of our cause, and be willing to-"

"Allow fugitives into our town on a daily basis?" Ozai asked coldly. "No."

"But, you must know that the airbenders need to be stopped! Your son is a firebender! They'd rip you from your homes and send you to live in the Fire Nation."

"Exactly." He said. "Letting refugees pass through my village will do little to help the war effort, which, is, in and of itself pointless." He held up a hand to preemptively silence Katara. "Not that it isn't beneficial. But letting formerly captured waterbenders stay here will only draw attention to the town by those searching for them. I'm afraid we'll have to decline."

"But-" She began, before frowning and getting up from the table. "Alright. I understand. Goodbye Zuko, it was nice meeting you."

Zuko nodded his own goodbye, still somewhat ashamed from his mistake.

* * *

 

 "Any luck with mister flames?"

"No." She said. "We'll have to go to the next town."

Sokka nodded. It was rare that they convinced someone to willingly offer shelter to escaped militants. Fear of the airbenders went deep, here. "Well, hopefully some luck will run our way."

The two siblings made camp for the night.

* * *

 

"Well?" Azula waited. "Who was she?"

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Don't pretend you don't know. You'd never let your guard down enough to _not_ spy on our conversation."

She merely grinned. "I think you should go with them."

Zuko paused in his motions, turning toward his sister in honest surprise. "What? Where did this come from?"

"Where did what come from?"

"Me, going with them."

"Well, it was our darling uncle who brought it up, at first. The idea of you going off with the Water Tribe girl."

"I thought you didn't listen to anything Uncle said."

"I _listen_ , I just don't _obsess_ over every cryptic clue like you do." She said simply. "And that's not just why. Where's your sense of adventure Zuko?"

Zuko raised an eyebrow. 

Azula sighed. "You know you want to go with an help them. Father says that it's pointless, but aren't you tired of hiding? At the very least being cooped up here? Whenever a show passes through town you go see it every day they stay, even though you think everything in it is pointless. And after they leave you get moody and depressed for a few days."

"I don't-"

"You spend every waking moment thinking about running away with the circus. Of all the most cliched methods of leaving town, it's the worst, and I suppose that's why you have enough dignity not to go through with it. But this, it's not just leaving behind Father, no, that would make you selfish. This is a _mission_." She smiled at Zuko's expression. She had hit the nail on the head, it seemed. "Better yet, one that Father supports, even if he thinks it's pointless. And imagine, if you succeeded, how impressed he'd be. But more than that, it's a guilt-free way to leave town, see the world, go adventuring. Even using your bending, taking our your agression on the airbenders. You want this more than anything." And if he hadn't before, he would now.

"...Father would never agree to it-"

"So?" Azula whispered, conspiratorially, as if it had been Zuko who had admitted the plan to her, and that it was she who was accepting his trust. "Go in the night, leave a letter filled with words about honor and the greater good. He'll be mad, obviously, but he'll chalk it up to your youth and naivete. Then imagine when you come home successful?"

"...Uncle would-"

"Support it, obviously."

"-of course he would support me, but I can't just leave him here!"

"Why not?" 

"...No. It's too risky."

Azula shrugged. "Fine. I just thought that it was what you wanted. And maybe a way to get you out of the house."

"Why do you want me out?"

"Zuko, how much do you care about this town? Honestly?"

"Well... it's my responsibility. As the Heir."

"But do you care about it? At all? You don't have any friends there. You've never been interested in the business aspects of it. You go to the town hall meetings to be with Father more than anything else." She pointed to herself. "I care. I know everything in this town. After Father gives up the position, i'd be the best suited to it. Unfortunately, you are the eldest, and even if I were the eldest, you're a boy. That just how things are in the Earth Kingdom. But if you weren't here, the only logical choice for the next Lord of Hui would be me."

"So you're trying to make me run away from home for _your_ sake."

"Zuko. If I really wanted you out of the way, there are other ways I can do it." She said coldly. She put on an injured expression. "It's just this way, you get to do what you've always wanted, but have been to cowardly to do, while I get to fulfill my own dreams without having to do something horrible to you."

Zuko shuddered slightly. "You're being way too open about this."

"Zuko, you don't have much time, honestly. What are the chances she'll stick around long enough for you to debate this in your head? I'm being honest with you because we don't have much time."

He glanced out the window, the sun was going down. "...I'll..."

Azula smiled slightly. "Well, whatever you choose brother, consider this conversation nonexistent."

* * *

 

"I want to come with you." Zuko said, determined. 

"What? No!" Sokka said emphatically. He turned to Katara, "No way. This is way too important."

Katara hesitated, at least willing to consider it. "Zuko, have you ever fought someone before?"

"My parents trained me in elite firebending."

"That doesn't mean anything, have you ever fought someone? And won, preferably." Sokka replied. "Sparring and fighting are two different things, and if you mess up even once when facing an airbender, you're done. You trip up, show one weakspot, weren't ready for just one blast, and they can flip you on your back and have a staff to your throat before you can blink."

Zuko hesitated, before going into a deep bow. "Please! Just give me this chance! I just want my life to mean something. I'm tired of hiding, let me come with you, and if I hold you back, or slow you down, you can abandon me. No guilt. I brought it on myself." He looked up, his eyes firey with ambition. "But please, take me with you."

The two siblings shared a look, and seemed to have a second-long silent debate. "Get up." Sokka said finally. "Fine. We'll give you a chance- if, you can prove you'll be able to hold your own." Sokka sunk into a fighting stance unfamiliar to Zuko. "You prove to me right now you can hold your own in a fight, and then we... I don't know. Do a trial run in one of the nearby towns. You get caught, it's on you. You almost get us caught, you have to go back home. If things go well... well, we'll see." He glanced at his sister, who smiled at the conditions. "So,  show me what you've got."

* * *

 

"Pathetic." Sokka said, smiling. "I mean, wow."

"Shut up!" Zuko screamed, hurling another fireball.

"Y'know, maybe I'm being too harsh on you. It could be that we're simply too good."

Katara sighed as she put out the flames that caught on the nearby tree. Something that had become surprisingly repetitive over the course of the fight. "Zuko, could you please stop trying to make a forest fire? Stealth is one of our biggest points here."

Zuko was about to snap at her as well, but caught himself. He was making a fool of himself now. He frowned, and shifted his stance, before jumping forward at Sokka once more. The Water Tribe boy raised an eyebrow, and then broke into a grin as he dodged Zuko's fist. "What, you've run out of fire?"

The teen smiled and kicked out, nearly catching Sokka. "Just trying a different approach." He said cryptically.

The match reached on another few minutes, getting closer and closer, before Sokka flipped Zuko over him and onto the ground behind him. "Alright, alright, good, stop!" He shouted, as Zuko tried to jump off the ground to tackle Sokka, and barely missing. "You've made your point. I think you'll be able to hold your own at least." The Water Tribe Boy stopped down to lift Zuko up, brushing him off as a courtesy. "Though what brought around the change halfway through?"

Zuko gestured to the boy's sister. "What Katara said, about stealth. In Firebending, you attack, attack, attack. It's loud, noisy, and destructive. And it works. But it's not stealthy, and it only works when the other person is attacking, and only when the opponent is weaker. You weren't like that. You flipped between attacking, defending, and dodging so easily... So I decided to go with something more focused; attacking, but without the flare. You had less to dodge, so you didn't dodge as much."

Sokka nodded in appreciation. "Alright. You _do_ have some skills then." 

Katara nodded, putting out the last of the fires before going down to join them. "Though I think we should work on your temper, and your aim."

"...So, I can go with you?"

Katara smiled. "I think it'll turn out okay. I have a feeling we were meant to find you."

Sokka rolled his eyes. "Again with the 'feelings'."

"And how many times have my 'feelings' kept us out of jail cells suspended a hundred feet in the air?"

Sokka shrugged unapologetically. "I trust them. I just don't _get_ them."

"Well then, Zuko. Welcome to team Water Tribe." Katara said, smiling. "At least until you get yourself captured."

"Hey!" 

* * *

 

Azula smiled as the sun rose, and Zuko's bed was empty. 

Iroh panicked, and Ozai was screaming. 

Azula smiled wider than she had since her fire first turned blue. 

Her uncle began talks of leaving the village himself, to search for Zuko, which Ozai was receptive of, but unfortunately decided that Iroh's presence to legitimize her father in the presence of the Earth peasants was necessary. 

Zuko's presence had been a necessity as well, given the Earth Kingdom's patriarchy, but it was something that her Father could not help. He was going to keep it a secret for as long as possible, but a few careful whispers on Azula's part had led to the entire village gathering, to wonder where the Heir to the Lord's seat had gone. 

Father was absolutely livid, she was sure. But in time, he would cool, and recognize Azula's initiative and cunning in setting herself up as Heiress. He would be proud of her.

She didn't even kill Zuzu. She had even helped him! Mother was proud of her too, Azula was sure, wherever she was. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Team Water Tribe, plus one


End file.
